About Me

I am known for my 'simple stories' and 'emotionally charged' poetry. I am a certified journalist, a certified EFT Teacher and a certified Fashion designer. I am also a published writer and have worked on radio, television and print. For a brief period, I also worked as an English teacher.

I started writing short stories and poetry from the age of 11, but it was not until the age of 22 that I got my first work published. It was totally unplanned and unexpected, but also a great boost to my ego as well as the courage I needed to reveal my long hidden dream of wanting to write for a living.

The news was not met with much enthusiasm or encouragement by my family; as far as they were concerned Journalism was a bad enough career choice - it wouldn't be as rewarding as being a Physician, a Lawyer or an Engineer for instance. Journalism, they said, was a poor choice, but limiting its use to only writing wasn't going to be rewarding at all, and I have often times wondered 'rewarding for who?'

At 24 years, I had two books published - a collection of short stories (A Shadow on the Sun) and a poetry chap book (The Pyre of the Phoenix). I was freelance writing for some local newspapers at the time, and on the side, I was running a hair salon. By 26, I was bored with my employment so I moved from my hometown of Jos, central Nigeria, where I was born, and took up employment with an Italian company in the oil region down south, in a city called Calabar. The employment afforded me the means to take care of myself and the time to pursue my art as a story teller and a poet.

I joined the Association of Nigerian Authors and the International Women's Writing Guild and basically spent my free time attending readings and performances. Naturally my need to explore my creative side grew. At 27, I had had my third book (Fingerprints) published. Although, the book lacked literary success, its financial success, plus the experience of being away from home for the first time, without my family, made me yearn to explore the world.

I also felt like the lack of literary success of my books were due to my lack of street wisdom (don't ask me why). So I left Nigeria in 1999 for Europe. However, my trips were short, but often. I wanted to gauge if a life outside Nigeria was really worth the trouble. I had a great life back home and wasn't willing to settle for anything less.

I had lived abroad before and knew the deceiving belief that western life was better than ours. Granted, life in Nigeria isn't anything like it is out here, but I had a good life back home and I was very aware of that. It was hard not to be. Anyway, my frequent trips to Europe left me with the belief that my life may not get any better outside Nigeria but I would have more materials to work with as an artist. So in 2001 I decided to finally leave Nigeria for a longer period. I relocated, interestingly though, to the Caribbean Island of St. Vincent and the Grenadine, where I took employment with a local newspaper.

It was also while in the Caribbean that I got married to my late Italian husband and shortly afterward, relocated to Italy. During the early years in Italy, I published my forth book (The songs in her soul). And over the next few years, my employment was focused on freelance writing. I have lived (sometimes very briefly and other times not) in France, Spain, Greece, Qatar and Kenya. And I have travelled a lot, in between, to other parts of the world.

In 2004 I found out I was pregnant and decided to quit the travelling and focus on my impending motherhood. I decided to enroll into a fashion designing and dress tailoring course here in Italy; that lasted three years. It was also during the period (shortly after my daughter's birth) that I had my fifth book, a collection of poems (Dusk reminds me of you) published. It was also the period my late husband got diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and was given a couple months of life.

After graduating my fashion design course, with the prospect of single parenting, which for a few years already had been my fate, I couldn't risk the uncertainty of following my heart and pursuing that which pleased me the most - creativity. My sole focus was in providing for my child, so I returned to teaching English in the city of Genoa.

2009 and 2010 had been particularly stagnating for my creativity. I lost my father and my baby sister, had a husband on the brink of death, and a daughter that was confused as hell from all the sadness that trailed us. Employment for me became all about provision. I was sure my creativity was gone for good. I had the will to carry on though and so I did.

In 2010, my career took an interesting turn; I joined the Maritime sector and moved to the town of Livorno (Tuscany) where my new office is located.

It has been a very long and trying year. Not only have I had to re- educate myself in order to fit in with my new career choice, I have found a sense of stability again and interestingly, a rebirth of my creativity. So here I am, making apparel and writing again, with possible publication by in Spring 2012. My late husband (he died) would say, like he always did, that I am 'indestructible'